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artist's way open studio (november)
November 16, 2005
artist's way: week 10
by gl. at 11:49 pm
blind painting is always a fun activity and it allows people who are afraid of paint to try it because they can't see it! :)
after a tearful reunion last week, last night's group had the weird vanishing act again, so i had unexpected time to play w/ the gocco, but it was a little rough on the morale. the wednesday group, however, was chatty and excited and playful & brave. one of the participants has been a member of a previous cluster and has said the last two chapters really resonated for her -- which was good to hear because she really didn't have a connection to the book the last time 'round. but her life has shifted in some fairly dramatic ways, and this illustrates my theory of the artist's way process being a spiral one: not all the chapters will work for you, but at least one of them certainly will, and different chapters will mean more to you than others each time you read it.
i've been asked the same question now twice in two days: why do i host a free collage night? the job club for creatives asked it first, implying that if i want to use it as a recruitment tool for creative clusters, i need to target people willing to pay for collage night. today one of the participants asked about it, worried i was undervaluing my time & attention.
there are several reasons why collage night is free:
i believe in the gifting economy. i want to have a range of offerings, including one for people who can't afford to join a creative cluster.
i don't like the idea that every art experience has to be commodified & paid for. i charge for artist's way creative clusters because they are a significant investment of time & attention. but collage is something anyone should be able to do at any time. to charge for it seems incredibly counterintuitive.
i don't provide instruction & don't plan to. i simply provide an opportunity, a catalyst. i believe art can be communal without requiring it to be collaborative.
the artist's way open studio benefits me just as much as it benefits the other participants: it provides me with an obligation to create art, as well as the opportunity to broadcast consistent updates about the studio that are more than simply solictations for money.
besides, who would come if i charged? i don't know how others do it, but it still feels like pulling taffy to get the studio to fill even when it is free. :P
center (compassion): layers of shimmery fabric folded into comfortable pillows, cradling a frosted glass candleholder. a gossamer ribbon of stars is tucked between the layers. i've been wanting to do something w/ fabric, and compassion seemed to be a nice way to use it. the first layer of fabric is a sort of dichroic or interference fabric: it drastically changes colors as you change the angle of the light, moving from dusky rose to plum twilight.
music: pink martini's hang on little tomato because i referenced it in the weekly email i send out between sessions.
posted by gl. | November 16, 2005 11:49 PM | categories: artist's way